Corsair Vengeance M90 and K90 Review

Introduction:

Not too long ago we took a look at the K60 and M60 from Corsair and got a feel for what Corsair has to offer outside of the typical PSUs, RAM, and cases that we see from them. Well, Corsair didn’t stop with the 60-series for mouse and keyboard options – they've also released a 90-series keyboard and mouse have hit the market as well, which leaves me questioning what would be next…the 120 series? Or perhaps Corsair would just start a new naming scheme as the 60 and 90 are both under its “Vengence” label for gaming-related gear.

Whatever Corsair decides to name its next series, it doesn’t really matter, I hope the K90 and M90 at least stand up to the 60 series that we’ve already seen. At slightly higher prices for each, I’m expecting a little more this time around. The K90 is a mechanical keyboard with 18 dedicated macro keys and the whole keyboard is backlit in blue and white. The M90 is a laser mouse with 15 buttons, all elegantly placed on an aluminum chassis. Both have some serious gaming appeal, but I guess actually giving them a try will give better word of their fierceness.

Today we’ll take a look at the Vengeance 90 Series from Corsair as both are at my grip for gaming and daily use. Will they hold up as well as the 60 Series? Are they truly what Corsair claims they are? Let’s find out if your next birthday wish list will have the M90 or K90 at the top of the list.

Closer Look:

THE MOUSE M90

The M90 from Corsair arrived in a cardboard box just as most packages arrive on my porch. Inside I found a plastic shell package wrapped around the mouse. It looked much like the M60, but I’ll try to avoid the constant reference to the 60 series for those of you who are not familiar with them…however, the similarity between packaging of the two is nearly identical. The mouse is in full view through the plastic and leaves no guess work to know what is inside.

The cardboard inside, which is there to add a little decorative feel, fades from blue to black behind the mouse and reads “VENGEANCE M90” on the left and right sides of the mouse. Designed for gaming, it reads in both English and French for the two chosen package languages. The package gets to brag a little about the features of the mouse. The seven main features that the mouse is to be known for are of the following: 5700 DPI laser sensor, 9 ergonomic macro buttons, 48KB onboard dynamic memory, aluminum frame, tracking up to 165 inches per second and acceleration up to 30G, adjustable lift distance, and a solid metal weighted scroll wheel. Now if these things haven’t stirred up your interest, than you might want to check your pulse – you might be a zombie.

Pulling off the plastic, the mouse starts to look a little more real and I want to tear away the packaging even faster to get to use the mouse. I feel this is the hardest part of every review. The package arrives on your doorstep and you have to bust out the camera and white box before you can ever get your hands on the review item. The anticipation kills! Behind the cardboard filler there’s a quick start guide and a little booklet about warranty information – you even have two years for something to fail before you can’t get a free replacement. The cable comes wrapped up with a nice Velcro strap that allows you to take it wherever your gaming may take you.

THE KEYBOARD K90

The K90 also arrive on my doorstep in a nicely packed box; Corsair sure seems to know how to use proper packing methods with bubble pack and all. The box plays off the blue fade to black like the M90 did – it’s like it was a set made to be. “VENGEANCE” is in huge yellow letters on the front of the box with a shot of the keyboard right behind it. A little plastic window on the left gives first glance of the keyboard itself – a good look at those dedicated macros.

English and French are the languages of choice again with the back of the box showing the top-down angle of the entire keyboard with the wrist rest attached. Seven key features are listed: Cherry MX Red switches, 18 dedicated G-Keys, full key matrix anti-ghosting, 20-key rollover on USB, pro-grade brushed aluminum chassis with laser etched keys, customizable profiles, and 36K of on-board memory. The edges of the packaging show a few of the features with close-up shots and you know before opening the box that you’ve got a two year warranty on the keyboard.

Time for opening the box – my favorite part! The keyboard comes in a nice form-fitting, recycled, encasement. The package is shaped to hold the components perfectly and has protected everything perfectly in shipping – seems a lot nicer than the usual plastic packaging that shatters when dropped and this is even environmentally friendly. However, it still has a plastic front, so perhaps it wasn’t designed for the green impact but it sure makes disposing of it a lot easier since it just crushes up in your trash can. The whole keyboard is in view now and I like it.

Flipping over the package you can really see the contours designed to hold this specific package contents. The wrist rest, bundled cable, quick install guide, and warranty booklet are all neatly hidden within. Pulled away from this nifty packaging, the keyboard looks pretty nice and I'm looking forward to using it already. The cables come neatly bundled with the Velcro wrap; it looks like this is going to be a lot of fun.

The 90 series is quite appealing to the eye; both the M90 and the K90 are pretty impressive out of the box. I'm ready to use them but I'm guessing you'd like a little more up and personal look at the two – besides some box shots. Take a look at the next few pages to get a good look and see what each of these really has to offer you.